​How to Reduce your Cell Phone Stress

Whether you’re in New York, Los
Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Houston, or any of the other major
cities in the country, be it for work or pleasure, these days a cell phone is a
must. You’ll need it to coordinate everything from dinner reservations to that
early morning meeting—and if you don’t want to pay an arm and a leg for a plan
that allows you to make calls internationally, your best bet is to rent a cell
– yes – even the latest model, the
iPhone 7.

I mean, what a weight off your
shoulders to be able to simply travel, no strings attach, and have Dyal Rental deliver your phone to your hotel and drop off at any
USPS/FedEx/UPS local or have your hotel concierge take care of the return, much
like you would a car. Right?

Making your travel plans less
stressful has an immediate positive effect on your overall psychology—and
health. But isn’t it ironic that making it easier to pick up a cell phone is a
relief from stress when traveling, when the very thing—the cell phone—you’re
picking up, can actually be a huge stressor in itself?

Now, we’re not advocating not using cell phones; we all rely on
them too much to stay in contact, to remind ourselves of important dates and
appointments, and of course, we’re much better off these days with cells in the
case of an emergency. (Not to mention, without cell phones, Dyal Rental would pretty much be out of business.)

What we’re talking about here are
some practical ways to limit your cell phone use once you’ve rented it, and
thus limit your stress.

1. Stay present

This
is the most important step to
successfully cell phone (yes, used as a verb.) When you’re solely looking at
the little screen*, you’re not paying attention to what’s around you; to what’s
present. You’re not paying attention to your family, or your spouse, your dog,
your food, or even (hopefully not!) the road!

So
take some deep, calming breaths: in for four seconds, out for four seconds. Chances
are, once you focus on the present and the world around you, you’ll no longer
even want to stare into the depths of that little screen.*

*FUN
FACT! The extremely excellent and disturbing show, Black Mirror, is named as such because of the reflective, black
screen of an iPhone. Creepy, yes?

2. Download some relaxing apps

Further
to step one, is a way that you can actually use
your smart phone to stay more present
and relax. There are tons of great
meditation apps available to you. If you don’t have a meditation practice
already—get one! Especially if you’re traveling a lot for work. This tool will
change your life—and now, your phone can help you. Dyal
Rental phones are unlocked and you allow
you to download any app you need.

3. Don’t download apps that you know
distract you

If
you know already Facebook is a back
hole for your attention, don’t download it onto your phone! If you must have
certain social media apps on your phone, use
your phone to set a timer! Limit your time on social media to 20-minute
(max) increments. But even better—try talking to someone face to face instead
during that 20-minute window you’ve allotted. Your day will come to life,
guaranteed.

4. Take a picture

No,
not a selfie—all of this selfie-taking and posting onto social media has been
widely proven at this point to cause way more stress. (Comparing yourself to
others, feeding off of people’s Likes or comments, not feeling good about
yourself if you’re not getting the responses you wanted… It’s all very
stressful and harmful to self esteem—ESPECIALLY IN TEENAGERS.)

Ahem,
anyway: your camera phone provides a great opportunity to limit stress
when you do something like take a photo
of where you parked in the parking lot, so you’ll save time finding it; taking
a picture of the map when you’re hiking; taking a picture of that weird fungus
on your toe so you can send it to your
doctor to check out. The iPhone
7 Plus has the best camera.

5. Talk to Siri

If
you have a phone with Siri, use it! Siri can be annoying, sure, but ultimately,
she’s less stressful than staring at your screen for minutes on end trying to
figure out HOW IN THE WORLD TO SET A REMINDER!

Siri
can do that for ya. Just set her up (or, if you set it that way, him), and then
say, “Hey Siri…” and then fill in the rest. You can even say things like, “Hey
Siri, call Dave Johnson.” Or, “Hey Siri, remind me when the forecast is for
rain to pack an umbrella.”

Annoying:
sure. But she can help you out.

6. No screens at night!

One
of the most important things you can do to limit your stress, is maximize your
sleep! Studies have shown that if you’re staring at screens before bedtime
(computer screens, cell phones, T.V.s), you’re actually suppressing your
melatonin levels, keeping your brain active, and even wake you up in the middle
of the night (not just because your phone could beep or ring, but because they
mess with your circadian rhythms. And you don’t wanna mess with that!)

7. Just put it away.

Here’s
the thing: Cell phones and smart phones have the potential to be great
tools—when they’re used as intended. Use your phone to make calls, to look the
things up that you need to, to keep your life organized, and basically as a
tool to help you. Then, simply put it
away. There’s a whole world out there beyond the screen, and if you’re looking
down the whole time, you’re going to miss it.